You could say I'm pint-sized... the teenager set to be crowned world's shortest man at just 22 INCHES high

He might only be slightly taller than a glass bottle, but Junrey Balawing is set to break big world records.

The tiny teenager will soon be crowned the world's smallest man, standing at a mere 22 inches.

The minuscule man from Zamboanga del Norte, in the Philippines, is already 17 years old but is just the same size as a one-year-old.

Junrey Balawing, 17, sits beside a can at his home in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.

Small wonder: Junrey Balawing is set to become the world's smallest man when he turns 18 in June. Junrey stands at just 22 inches tall

And when he celebrates his 18th birthday in June he is excepted to shave five inches of the current Guinness World Record.

He struggles to walk and can't stand for long, but he looks forward to wearing the crown with pride.

'If I were the smallest man in the world, it would be very cool,' he said.

His mother, Concepcion, 35, says she noticed something was wrong as Junrey approached the age of two but no doctor was able to help.

Junrey Balawing, 17, tries his father's slippers on outside his home in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.
Junrey Balawing, 17, smiles as he plays with a box of biscuits at his home in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.

Big smile: Junrey turns 18 later this year but he will still only be as tall as a one-year-old. Even with a minor growth spurt he would struggle to catch up with other teenagers

'He was always sick and we noticed he wasn't growing so we took him to see a doctor but they were baffled,' she says.

When Junrey was 12 the family took him back to the doctor but their only advice was to take more vitamins, which the family couldn't afford.

The family live in a very remote part of the Philippines, the nearest town is an hour away and they're 570 miles from Manila.

Junrey's father Reynaldo, 37, works as a blacksmith in the town centre and is only home at weekends because of travel difficulties.

Junrey Balawing, 17, (C) shares a moment with his family in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.

Family: Junrey can't stand for too long and needs his mother, Concepcion, to stay at home with him while the other brothers and sisters go to school

And while Junrey's younger but taller siblings, Jaycel, 13, Jay-art, 11 and Jeanritch, six, go to school, he stays at home all day with his mother.

Concepcion said: 'I would love to be able to work while my other children are at school but I can't leave Junrey. He needs my care every minute of every day.

'Junrey can only walk with some help and he can't stand for too long because he's in too much pain. But he loves it when I tell him he's the smallest man in the world, he just smiles with pride.'

Based on the Guinness Book of Records, the current smallest man in the world is 24-year-old Niqo Hernandez of Colombia, standing at 27 inches.